National Culture and CSR: The Influence of National Culture on CSR and the Moderating Effect of State of Development

The relationship between national culture and CSR has received increased attention over the past few decades. However, to date, the results of this relationship are inconclusive as they show positive, negative, and non-significant results. Moreover, the results are outdated as only the first four dimensions of the Hofstede framework have been researched thoroughly, while the two newest dimensions have received very little attention with regards to their relationship to CSR. The key objective of this study is to contribute to the debate by testing the influence of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, long-term orientation, and indulgence on CSR. This is done by analyzing 215 companies from 23 different countries, which are on the Forbes 2000 list. Furthermore, the moderating role of state of development is assessed in this context, by using the distinction made in the MSCI ACWI Index. By conducting a moderated multiple regression analysis, mixed results were found on the influence of national culture on CSR, which could be ascribed to a difference in sample. Moreover, the influence of state of development was not significant in the main regression, however, it gave interesting opportunities for future research. The findings of this study thereby add to the body of knowledge on national culture, CSR, and state of development, and provide several theoretical and managerial implications